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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24472987">Runaways</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowMoonyx/pseuds/SnowMoonyx'>SnowMoonyx</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(in response to injuries from combat), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety Attacks, Coming of Age, Fluff, Injury, M/M, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:21:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,734</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24472987</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowMoonyx/pseuds/SnowMoonyx</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo didn't fit in. Sure, he had been the one to lay the last touch on Gaea, sacrificing himself and coming back to life afterwards. Still he didn't feel as if he belonged at camp Half-Blood. So he decided to do what he had done six times before- run away.</p><p>He didn't expect to meet Nico di Angelo on the same night doing the exact same thing. So they leave camp together, because coincidences doesn't belong with demigods.</p><p>They go on a journey on a giant bronze dragon together, stumbling and falling as they try to find themselves, and somewhere along the way, each other.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nico di Angelo/Leo Valdez</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>95</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leo didn’t fit in.</p><p>What a shock, right?</p><p>Nah, not really. It was obvious. Even for a demigod his weirdness-level simply exceeded every previous record set. Even after killing Gaia by sacrificing himself and then being brought back to life by Festus injecting the Physician's Cure and more or less being deemed a hero in the days after the war he <em>still </em>felt out of touch with…</p><p>Everyone.</p><p>Camp Half-Blood was a mess. Not too odd, all things considered. Everyone had been pretty busy raising it back up from the dust, getting to know the Romans at the same time as they stayed for a while to help and… figure things out. There hadn’t been much time for taking a moment to stop and breathe, everyone wound up in repairing and removing all evidence of Gaea almost awakening completely.</p><p>But now that most reparations were done and plans had been drawn up for the rest Leo finally took the time to think things through, mainly about the nearest future. And it wasn’t hard to reach a conclusion.</p><p>He didn’t fit in.</p><p>The only time he had spent on the camp earlier was during the time he was building the Argo II. While the rest of his cabin had found the time to enjoy the rest of the camp with daily activities Leo had more or less holed himself up in the Bunker, occasionally spending the night there too, with or without sleeping involved. He hadn’t made much of an effort to get to know the rest of the camp. And that was fine by him.</p><p>He had felt much more at home on the Argo II compared to what he had ever felt in the camp.</p><p>Sure, he was considered a hero now. The word left a weird taste in his mouth. Not a horrible one but weird. Like it didn’t make sense.</p><p>After having the rest of the Seven lining up with threats to kill him again when they found him alive beneath all the rubble they had all crushed him in a massive hug. And Leo had felt great. A bit cramped maybe, but it was still awesome. To have so many people cherish him. To have someone caring about him. And the rest of the camps, Greek and Roman alike, they all held respect for him afterwards, maybe found him <em>cool</em> even, and Leo had soaked it all up.</p><p>But the summer was nearing the end. Soon the Romans would go back to California. The Seven would be split up.</p><p>And Leo. Well. He wasn’t going to stay.</p><p>Despite how nice everyone had been to him he still felt out of place, felt restless and awkward and breathless. Like no matter how hard he tried to draw it on the oxygen just simply refused to enter his lungs.</p><p>Things between him and Calypso weren’t gonna work out. She was an amazing girl, and both him and Percy had made <em>sure</em> the gods actually let her leave Ogygia this time around, but they just weren’t meant to be. Calypso had a lot of stuff she needed to come to terms with, immortal gods she needed to speak with. She didn’t have the capacity to balance a boyfriend atop of that. And Leo was fine with it. Honest.</p><p>But he and Camp Half-Blood weren’t meant to be, either.</p><p>So that was why he found himself walking towards the Bunker 9 in the middle of the night, the day before the Romans were set to leave. He donned the fire-proof clothing Calypso had given him that day on the island so many weeks ago when he actually had a hand-fast goal in his mind, the orange t-shirt he barely ever wore left behind, folded on his bed with a single note of goodbyes and apologizes. Around his waist his trusty toolbelt was fastened, ambrosia and food stuffed inside, just so he had something to help him on his way. He would go to Festus, take into the sky and…</p><p>Leo halted in his steps. He had no idea <em>where </em>he wanted to go. Just anywhere but here (and anywhere but the Mediterranean). He had run away before. He could do it again. Now that he had a dragon on his side with better knowledge of who he was it’d be easier to avoid cops that would try to bring him back in to the system. He would just go explore the world, and somewhere, somehow, maybe find himself.</p><p>At least he hoped he would. Find a meaning with his life. Then, and only then would he consider ever going back.</p><p>Y’know, unless he was slayed by monsters first. Maybe that’d be better than to face Piper’s wrath at his sudden disappearance.</p><p>Great, he hadn’t left camp yet and he already knew that he had screwed up. Even more proof that he needed to get away.</p><p>Straightening his back, he marched towards the Bunker once more, his steps more certain than he felt.</p><p>He wasn’t expecting to run into the son of Hades. He hadn’t even humoured the thought. But sure enough, Nico di Angelo stood in a clearing in the forest a small trek from the Bunker, his stygian sword at his hip and a new backpack slung across his shoulder- black, of course. His eyes were wide, though not in surprise at seeing Leo, but rather in surprise at being <em>seen</em>.</p><p>Leo knew that look all too well.</p><p>For a couple seconds they both stood still, eyeing each other. Then they opened their mouths at the same time.</p><p>“Are you running away?” they chorused like they had found the time to rehearse it earlier.</p><p>Another awkward silence before Leo squared his shoulders- not really intimidating given his stature, but he wasn’t about to be dragged back to camp now. “Yeah, I am. I don’t belong here,” he said, voice quiet but sure. He hadn’t even tried to guess what Nico’s reaction would be, but the Ghost King let go of a breath, shoulders slumping. <em>Relief</em>, Leo dully noted.</p><p>“Oh. Well. It’s the same for me.”</p><p>Leo raised an eyebrow. “The running away part, or not belonging?”</p><p>It wasn’t really a question. He already knew the answer. Nico was courteous enough to answer him nonetheless with a half-hearted shrug. “Both.”</p><p>Leo looked around, suddenly scared that even more demigods were on the loose in the woods that night. “Soo… You’re not gonna stop me, right?”</p><p>“As long as you don’t stop me.”</p><p>The son of Hephaestus nodded. “Awesome. Then I guess this is goodbye.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>And yet neither moved.</p><p>Both running away from the camp at the same night? For more or less the same reason? It was a weird coincidence. But coincidences rarely had a part in their lives as demigods. And they didn’t quite know what to make of it. What did the fates plan for them?</p><p>Leo figured he could stand asking him a few more questions.</p><p>“Where are you going?”</p><p>Nico cast a glance down, like he was considering digging a hole straight to the Underworld. A grimace crossed his face, and he back up looked at Leo. “…I don’t exactly know. You?”</p><p>“No idea. Anywhere aside from Mare Nostrum, I guess.”</p><p>At that the corners of Nico’s lips actually tugged upwards. Leo was almost taken back- it wasn’t often he got to see the son of the dead smiling. “So, are you just going to <em>walk </em>away or..?”</p><p>Leo blinked his eyes, before letting a short laugh escape his lips. “Me? Oh, no no. I’m taking Festus. Why walk when you can fly, right?”</p><p>“I guess.”</p><p>“And you? What’s your means of transportation?”</p><p>“I was just thinking about shadow-travelling. It’s handy.”</p><p>Leo’s smile faltered. He recalled a couple conversations he had with Reyna and Will some days prior. “Is that a good idea? Aren’t you going to, like, fade completely into the shadows if you use it any more? I’ve heard the stories.”</p><p>Nico raised an eyebrow. “How did y- why do you care?”</p><p>Leo raised a shoulder. “C’mon. You lead us to the doors of death, and then you saved us from them with Hazel. Then you basically sacrificed yourself by transporting the Athena statue over half the globe. Stuff like that makes a person care, especially when it ends up saving the world too.”</p><p>Nico looked taken aback at his words. “Oh.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>Another heartbeats silence. Then-</p><p>“Can… can I come with you?” Nico’s voice was so quiet, so small that Leo thought he had misheard him. Nico di Angelo, coming with <em>him? </em>On <em>Festus?</em> To gods know where?</p><p>And yet the idea didn’t repel him. In fact, it almost sounded… nice.</p><p>He and Nico was a lot alike, even if neither had voiced it aloud. Besides, they had stalled long enough. If they wanted to get away in time, they should probably speed up.</p><p>“Yeah. Let’s go.”</p><p>A small smile spread across Nico’s lips again. “Thanks.”</p><p>And that was how Leo found himself atop Festus with Hades’ son straight behind him, far up in the sky. They circled all of the camp once, and Leo couldn’t help but wonder if their presence would be missed in the morning. Would they scout for them? Leo didn’t want that. He turned Festus southward.</p><p>“Let’s disappear.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If anyone had told Leo that he would one day run away from a camp where everyone had welcomed him on a giant bronze dragon with a child of Hades sitting behind him he wouldn’t have believed it. C’mon. He wasn’t that gullible.</p><p>If anything, he would have believed the bronze dragon and the whole ‘child of Hades’ thing the most. The unimaginable thing was having a place that actually wanted him there, and the fact that he would run away <em>with </em>someone else. As in, not alone.</p><p>Life really came at him with those hard-hitting curves.</p><p>“You doin’ good back there?” he yelled through the howling wind that washed over them, throwing a glance over his shoulder. Nico hadn’t said a word since leaving camp, and Leo was worried he was regretting coming with. Something that left Leo’s gut all twisted up, because who would be comfortable being left alone with him? Nico’s posture was all hunched over, but looking closer, his eyes were wide, looking down on the ground far below them. In fear? Or amazement?</p><p>“I’m fine,” came Nico’s curt answer, not looking at him. Nothing uncharacteristic there, all things considered. That was one of the greatest differences between the two of them. While Nico usually brooded in silence Leo loved to fill the air with chatter and hopefully laughter, if only as a way to distract from all the different emotions that whirled through him at all times. But he didn’t dare to ask Nico any more questions in fear the demigod might be having second thoughts about coming with him. Even if running away had been his own idea he still hated the idea of being left behind. Nico’s silence was still better than the silence of being alone.</p><p>So Leo shut up, instead turning his eyes forward once more. They had been following the east-coast southward since taking off hours ago, and to his left he could see dark blue giving way to pinks and yellows over the curve of the ocean as Apollo’s chariot slowly dragged the sun over the horizon, chasing away the night.</p><p>Leo’s stomach rumbled. How many hours had passed since the two of them had boarded Festus? He had no clue, but he felt hunger gnawing at him, demanding him to do something about it. “I’m gonna find somewhere to land so we can get some breakfast,” he told Nico, not looking behind him this time. Nico just hummed in response, the sound barely loud enough to be heard over the whine of the wind.</p><p>Such a talkative guy.</p><p>Vast forests and open plains stretched out beneath them, a bustling city just by the edge of the ocean. He doubted they had left New Jersey, but he wasn’t geographically knowledgeable enough to even guess just where in the state they had turned up.</p><p>Not that it mattered.</p><p>He steered Festus down to a clearing not too far from the city, diving down between the trees. While the mist had helped conceal Festus from regular people before he didn’t want to take any chances. The mist had been awfully strong as the earth-mother tried to rise from her slumber, after all. It might be weaker now.</p><p>They landed easily enough, and Leo climbed down from the dragon. He had half a mind to extend his hand to Nico but the demigod had already gotten himself down from Festus. Leo let his arm fall down, the air between still awkward, unfamiliar.</p><p>“So, uh, you want to go into the city?” Leo asked, eyes flickering from Nico’s eyes to the forest around them and back. “Or should I just cook up something out here? I make a mean taco.”</p><p>Nico shrugged, looking down. “Doesn’t really matter. I’m not that hungry.”</p><p><em>Lies, </em>Leo wanted to say. What could be better than some delicious food after hours of flying? He was starving, surely the other was too. But then again, this was Nico. He remember the time when he would only eat a handful grapes a day on the Argo II. Of course, that was after going into Tartarus alone and then being kept in a jar for days on end. Leo’s own problems seemed so ridiculously insignificant compared to what Nico had gone through, and once again shame bubbled in his throat at just how much of a coward he was, running away from stuff that didn’t really matter.</p><p>He swallowed it down. Weeks had passed since Nico’s visit in the deepest parts of the Underworld. He was going to make the boy eat, whether he like it or not. Gods knows he needed the nourishment. And Leo needed something else to think of. Making the food himself would at least provide him with that escape.</p><p>“Cooking it is,” Leo decided. Festus clicked and hummed at him, promising to keep watch on their surroundings in case some monsters decided to drop by for a visit. Leo grinned, patting the dragon’s head. “Thanks bud.”</p><p>“Do you actually understand him?” Nico asked. Leo startled, not used to the other starting any type of conversation. He let his hand fall from Festus as the dragon laid down by the edge of the forest.</p><p>“I, uh, yeah,” he answered, eloquent as always. “Festus uses a combination of morse code and noises that sounds similar to words. It’s not too hard to piece it together when you know code,” he added as he set up a small cooking station, trying to act unbothered by Nico’s unexpected question.</p><p>“Huh,” was all Nico said before sitting down, leaning against a tree. He closed his eyes. Leo was pretty sure the guy was out as a light before he had the chance to even start cooking.</p><p>He let him be as he prepared the food.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I told you, I’m not hungry,” Nico told him later when Leo had put together the tacos, finishing them off Master Chef-style and woken him up to try to get him to eat. Leo waved the taco in front of Nico’s face, snickering as the boy’s eyes unwillingly followed his every movement.</p><p>“Oh yeah? But can you resist this? I’m an excellent chef, I’ll have you know.” Then he widened his eyes, putting on a show of a thought dawning on him. “Wait, don’t tell me you can’t handle spicy food? How unfortunate! How terrible! I guess there’s stuff even you can’t survive, huh?”</p><p>Leo looked away, clenching his hand in front of his chest. “How sad, how utterly vile, but I guess there’s nothing-”</p><p>Nico snatched the taco from his hands. “Watch your words, Valdez,” he hissed. “I can handle spicy food just <em>fine</em>.”</p><p>Leo grinned, winking at him. “Great! Tell me if you need some milk when it turns out to be too strong.”</p><p>The boy huffed. “Just you watch.” He took a huge bite of the taco, munching it down, probably only to prove Leo wrong.</p><p>The taco wasn’t really all that spicy, though. He would let Nico believe it, but taunting him had been the only way Leo could think of to make him actually eat. He wasn’t good with coaxing and reasoning. Being annoying was all he really knew.</p><p>Content with the kid actually eating something Leo bit down on his own taco, groaning in delight.</p><p>Damn. He was just such an amazing cook.</p><p>When he had finished his food Nico was only half-way through, but he looked oddly smug, like he wanted to say <em>look! I handle spicy food soo well! </em>and Leo wasn’t going to pop his bubble so he let him be, giving him a thumbs up.</p><p>Cleaning up was easy enough. He simply set the pan he had used ablaze with fire, burning up all the grease and leaving only soot in the pan that he brushed off. Man, how had he survived on his own before freely using his powers?</p><p>A yawn pressed past his lips without his consent after stuffing away the tools. It wasn’t like he hadn’t ever been awake for days without sleep, but they weren’t on a quest or anything. They didn’t have a goal and a deadline. What was the rush? The day was sunny and bright, and the ground was soft and warm from soaking up sunlight. “I’m gonna take a nap,” Leo decided out loud, and Nico waved a hand at him which Leo took as an okay as his mouth was still stuffed with food. So he found a nice spot beside Festus, curled up and lulled by the quiet whir of Festus’ machinery. He dozed off.</p><p>~*~*~</p><p>Nico didn’t <em>get </em>Leo.</p><p>He knew the basics of his history. He knew Hera had made his life shit since a kid. He knew most of his life had been spent on the run from different foster homes. He knew he had a knack for machines, and fire, and actually <em>talking </em>to people.</p><p>So why would he run away from camp?</p><p>Of course, Nico couldn’t say much. He had done so himself after all. Multiple times, in fact. But the two of them were so <em>different. </em>At camp half-blood, he was a loner. An outcast. The sole child of Hades. He didn’t exactly bring sunshine and laughter with him, and he was pretty sure he made everyone else uncomfortable when he showed up. So yeah, he definitely did not belong there.</p><p>But that’s just it, though. He obviously didn’t fit the regular demi-god standard. Not that Leo filled them perfectly either, but he was far better off than Nico.</p><p>Leo was a funny guy. Nico wouldn’t ever laugh at his jokes, but the latino was good at lifting spirits, for the most part. And yeah, sometimes he was awkward and maybe even annoying. But he was hardworking too. Dedicated. Qualities that had shone in the recent war. Hades, the kid had saved them all by sacrificing himself! Of course he was well-liked in camp. He was a proper <em>hero, </em>cherished by his cabin and the Seven alike and probably a whole bunch of other people too. So what prompted him to run away? Nico didn’t get it.</p><p>Even less, he didn’t get why he had asked to join him.</p><p>His decision haunted him. Sure, shadow-travelling at the moment was almost a sure death sentence. He should really lay off it. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t <em>walk</em>, it didn’t mean he couldn’t use the Labyrinth. So what made him ask Leo to join him on Festus? He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. It made to sense.</p><p>That was why he was so surprised when Leo told him yes. Had the son of Hephaestus told him ‘no’ then Nico would simply have been okay with it. He couldn’t fault anyone for trying to get away from him. Hell, he would probably have waved himself off had he been in Leo’s shoes. But the latino had said <em>yes, </em>and now Nico was running away with him.</p><p>Honestly? What the <em>fuck</em>.</p><p>Deep down inside he was happy, though. Was happy Leo hadn’t turned him away. Was happy he could find someone he understood, in a way, even if most of it was confusing. Just because he usually was alone it didn’t mean he fancied being lonely, which was usually what happened every time he disappeared from camp.</p><p>He looked over at Leo, curled up beside the giant bronze contraption that was their means of transportation, sleeping silently like he hadn’t completely turned Nico’s view of the world upside-down. What was almost always <em>him </em>against the rest of the world, or <em>him </em>and<em> whoever found him useful </em>vs. everyone else had somehow become <em>them </em>against…</p><p>Well. He didn’t know who they were up against. The other campers? <em>Themselves?</em> It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he wasn’t alone this time, and he could be wrong but he didn’t get the feeling that Leo had wanted him to come because of his usefulness.</p><p>And for what only happened once a year, a warm feeling fluttered in his stomach.</p><p>He wolfed down the rest of the taco, trying to ignore whatever <em>that</em> meant.</p><p>Leo hadn’t lied when he said he was good at cooking. Food wasn’t anything Nico desperately pursued, and after his less-than-pleasant stay in a giant jar with only a handful pomegranate seeds to keep him alive regular food had felt weird to consume. But this? Leo’s cooking? It was actually pretty good, and Nico caught himself wishing for one more. It didn’t even feel spicy despite all of Leo’s taunts.</p><p>Before he could start over-analyze <em>that </em>thought the air before him shimmered in different colours. An incoming I.M.</p><p>“<em>Nico!” </em>came the sharp voice of a familiar praetor, and he winced. Nico guessed the camp had woken up by now, and found not one, but two empty beds in the morning. He was almost flattered someone actually cared enough to actually contact him, though the biggest part of him wished he could avoid this.</p><p>“Reyna,” he said, keeping his voice leveled as the faint shimmer turned to a clearer picture. “How did you manage to I.M. me?” As far as he was concerned, the Romans didn’t use Iris Messages.</p><p>He watched as the praetor yanked an arm, and Jason came into sight. “<em>Ow!” </em>the other praetor hissed before throwing in a “<em>Oh, hey Nico</em>,” for good measure. Reyna ignored him. “<em>Jason showed me. Where the fuck are you?”</em></p><p>“Not at camp,” he shrugged, looking over at Leo. The other was still fast asleep, and Nico was tempted to shush Reyna down, afraid that she was going to wake him, and disturb his session of mulling over a thousand conflicting emotions.</p><p>The air in front of Leo shimmered too, and Nico couldn’t help the way his lip tugged a little upwards. The I.M. didn’t manifest though, as Leo was still sleeping, and it faded away soon enough.</p><p>“<em>Can’t connect?” </em>came a different voice, faint in the background of Reyna’s image. Piper, he guessed. He saw how Jason’s brows furrowed in concern before he had the full attention of both praetors.</p><p>“<em>Nico,” </em>Reyna said again, rubbing a circle on her temple, “<em>where are you? Clear answers only,” </em>she hissed<em>. “You know were leaving today, right?”</em></p><p>“I said goodbye yesterday! And I honestly don’t know where I am, alright? Leo just flew somewhere. I don’t-”</p><p>“<em>Wait, Leo!?” </em>Jason cut in, eyes wide. “<em>Is Leo with you!?”</em></p><p>Nico cursed. He shouldn’t have slipped his name. “Yes, he is,” he pressed out through gritted teeth. “We took Festus. And that’s all I can tell you.”</p><p>He was about to wave his hand through the image when Reyna held her hand up, making him hesitate. “<em>Wait just a second. Why did you two leave camp in the middle of night together? Where are you going?”</em></p><p>“It was just a coincidence, and we don’t know where we are going. We just agreed to run away.”</p><p>“<em>Why-”</em></p><p>“No gonna tell you. We have different reasons. Bye.”</p><p>“<em>Wait!” </em>Jason said, and Nico was really tempted to ignore him but he kept his hand down. “<em>Is Leo okay? Piper tried to I.M. him but he didn’t answer.”</em></p><p>“He’s just asleep. Don’t worry so much. We can handle ourselves. It’s not like this is the first time either of us have run away from somewhere.”</p><p>And before either could start questioning him again Nico sharply sliced the image with his hand, and the connection broke.</p><p>Amazingly, Leo was still asleep. So peacefully unaware of everything that tore at the insides of Nico in a storm of feelings and confusion.</p><p>Just another day in the life of Hades’ son. Awesome.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I feel the quality went drastically down with this chapter, really sorry about that! Hopefully stuff will be better as we go, stay tuned for more! I also created a Discord server for this ship, so if you want updates on this fic before everyone else or just want a place to scream about Valdangelo let me know and I'll give you an invite!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: this chapter contains a scene of battle, injuries and an anxiety attack. Please do not read if any of this makes you uncomfortable!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nico wasn’t a fool. Of course he knew they couldn’t escape danger forever. Two demigods on the loose atop a flying contraption made to look like a dragon? Not exactly the most subtle means of travelling. But still, he thought they would at the very least get a small warning before being attacked by monsters. He hadn’t counted on being ambushed, though in hindsight hadn’t it always been that way? Unexpected monster-attacks was the first chapter in the handbook for demigods 101, after all.</p><p>They had left the camp three nights ago. They were still getting used to each other, kind of tip-toeing around as they tried to figure out if the two of them alone in the wild would even work out, or if their not-quite-teamwork was doomed to fail. Leo did his best to keep the awkward silence to a minimum, and his idea of that was by talking about everything and nothing, cracking jokes left and right after the first silent day. Unfortunately, only the quiet disappeared. The awkwardness? Not so much. Nico hardly responded to anything Leo said, not that it seemed to bring the latino’s ever cheerful mood down despite the tell-tale signs of nervousness shoving up here and there in the way his eyes flickered or how his hands went from flurry-rush to hyper-speed constructing whatever he was making this time. Which sort of amused Nico, though he would’ve preferred him to install another seat on Festus on his tail or something, just so he could escape all the weird stuff that they probably should sort out if they wanted this to work. But Leo seemed to shy from conflict, and Nico didn’t take the initiative.</p><p>The awkwardness was mostly reserved to when they were in the air though. On the ground things were easier. It gave them more space to breathe. Although Leo had assured him that it was perfectly safe to nap while on Festus and that the dragon had only short-circuited twice while he had been asleep before Nico for some reason or other didn’t find it comforting. So he mostly slept wherever they landed next, refusing Leo to nap up in the sky too. He honestly preferred his blabbering if it meant they weren’t gonna fall to their deaths, and Leo had hesitantly agreed with him. On safe ground they had developed a shaky system where one would sleep while the other was awake keeping watch and busying themselves otherwise, and it worked perfectly fine.</p><p>Well. It had worked beautifully for all of two days, which was far longer than what Nico had anticipated if he was honest.</p><p>Still, it didn’t make him any less mad that the chimera had decided to creep up on them while he was the one keeping watch.</p><p>He hadn’t even seen the creature before it suddenly stood in the shadows of the alley they had claimed as their own for the day, snarling to get his attention as it crept closer to a slumbering Leo curled up on a bedroll they had bought yesterday. The weird snake-goat-lion hybrid neared the mechanic step-by-step as Nico whipped out his sword, three foot of wicked sharp stygian iron held ready in a tight grip as he asserted the situation. “Get up Leo,” he hissed, never once taking his eyes of the monster, “we got company!”</p><p>Leo was an awfully light sleeper (like himself) so it didn’t take long for his eyes to snap open. He jumped up in order to fight, but by then the chimera had already made its way  to the mechanic, opening it’s mouth and engulfing Leo in fire, something that would’ve been a sure death-sentence for literally anyone else.</p><p>The chimera clearly hadn’t counted on Leo smashing it in its bloody mane-framed face with a wrench, completely unharmed when the flames faded to smoke as he grinned in their wake. Nico used its dazed surprise to his advantage and ran towards it, striking it in the flank with his black sword, and just like that the battle began.</p><p>The chimera wasn’t anything to scoff at. Breathing fire was just one of its many strengths. It was disturbingly intelligent and quick on it’s feet, and it managed to smash part of the cobblestone on the ground with a hoof from sheer force alone. And then there was the tail. The tail that was a snake, complete with a head and fangs and <em>poison. </em>Nico made sure to dance out of the way anytime the diamond-backed thing swung close, fangs snapping at thin air where his leg had occupied the space seconds before. The chimera had wedged itself between the two of them, separating them, and Festus wasn’t much help in the narrow alleyway. They couldn’t make a quick retreat like this, so their only choice was to fight. Nico shifted his grip on the sword and ran at the monster.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He would’ve loved to say that they made easy work of the monster. Would’ve loved to say that they slayed the beast and got away uninjured. But that wasn’t the case at all.</p><p>Was Leo even <em>familiar </em>with the chimera? From what Nico knew of him the demigod hardly got any training, as he had been thrown on a quest shortly after first getting to camp, then holing himself up in the bunker to build the Argo, and then leaving on yet another quest. Had anyone ever bothered to sit him down and at least run him through the most common and dangerous creatures he might have the ill luck to meet? Nico doubted so, especially now that all of the chimera was focused on the other. Leo, in return, only kept his eyes at the upper body of the chimera, at the lion-head and the blood-caked mane. He didn’t spare a single glance at the snake-tail, didn’t know to be wary of it.</p><p>“Leo!” Nico shouted, grunting as the shoulder the chimera had dislodged seconds earlier moved uncomfortably, pain spiking up from it. “Watch out for the-”</p><p>The snake moved quicker than his words. It flashed over to Leo in a sharp motion, like an arrow being shot from a bow, and sunk its teeth down into his ankle, the skin he always left bare under cuffed pants. Leo screamed, wrench clattering to the broken cobblestone beneath their feet.</p><p>Leo screamed, and Nico could only imagine the pain of the poison, the <em>acid </em>entering his veins. His breath hitched because <em>fuck, </em>this was actually really really bad, and deciding that they had no way of winning this fight he holstered his sword in one swift motion and stepped into the shadow of the chimera, letting familiar darkness dissolve him into nothing and spitting him out beside Leo. He grabbed his arm, choked out “It’s okay,” and pulled them both back into the shadow as the chimera left the place ablaze when they faded away, feeling like a body of water being pulled this way and that like Percy was pulling at him for fun.</p><p>They reappeared atop Festus and the dragon didn’t need much convincing before taking into the sky, Leo all pale and shaking and Nico feeling himself tip over, knowing he was going under and <em>di immortales, </em>this would not end well.</p><p> </p><p>~*~*~</p><p> </p><p>So, like, this was <em>bad. </em>Very bad. And Leo knew what ‘very bad’ looked like. Acidic venom in his body with Nico out cold after shadow-travelling which he said he wouldn’t do, he really shouldn’t do? Yeah, that qualified the scene for his list of 'top ten very bad situations' he has been in.</p><p>At least Festus seemed to be okay, though he was whirring and clicking at him like crazy and for the first time Leo didn’t know what he was saying, couldn't understand a single noise as his mind was pretty preoccupied. Mostly by the poison in his veins that hurt like hell and clouded his head and made him fucking nauseous and his leg was possibly on fire and he wanted to scream a little more. How did you removed venom? He didn’t know. He didn’t know and <em>holy Hephaestus</em>, this was absolutely not good.</p><p>And then there was Nico. The child of Hades had fainted halfway draped over him, eyes rolled back and his skin was deathly, <em>ghostly </em>pale and Leo’s breath stuttered when he tried to get a grip on him to make sure he didn’t fall out of his seat because his hands fucking <em>passed through his body</em>. Like he was a shadow, a mirage. Now Leo was freaking out even more.</p><p>His body was on fire and he had no control of it, dizzying black spots danced in front of his vision as he felt like something was crushing his chest, no air entering his lungs and Nico was dissolving into shadows. </p><p>“Help,” he gasped out, into the air, to Festus, to anyone that could possibly hear him so high up in the sky. He reached wildly for Nico once more, his hand grabbing something that he tightened his grip around, and then Festus was descending just as rapidly as his sight was darkening. Just as he was about to go under someone entered his field of vision, but everything was too blurry to make out <em>who </em>or <em>what</em>.</p><p>“<em>You’ll be okay,” </em>a distantly familiar voice promised, and Leo’s body finally gave out, sending him falling into the stranger’s arms.</p><p>His hand was still entwined with Nico’s.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is kind of sudden, isn't it? In my defense monsters don't wait to attack, and also I've read too many hurt/comfort fics lately and I guess that inspired me a bit, although you only get the 'hurt' part for now. </p><p>And don't worry, this isn't going to magically make the two grow closer, but it will help them somewhat on the way!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm in sore need of more Valdangelo. This isn't something I'm going to regularly update, and there's probably not going to be a great story line. It's likely going to consist of lots of drabbles- some light-hearted and fluffy, some more angsty. I'll add more tags as I go.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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